Boys Cross Country

2024 Season Review

The Royals completed one of the best-ever boys cross country seasons. The season began with a fifth-place finish at the Marion County meet. An undefeated September (27-0) followed, during which the Royals won their first-ever All-Catholic title and a Gold Division win at Shelbyville. They then closed out the month with the program’s first-ever Circle City Conference championship! The Royals advanced out of sectionals with a fifth-place finish, and closed out the season with an 11th-place finish in the challenging Shelbyville Regional.

Senior Sam Vaught led the way for the Royals. In seven meets, Vaught won twice, finished second four times and added a third-place finish to his resume. He was also the individual champion in the All-Catholic meet. His finishes in the Circle City Conference, Marion County  and sectional meets earned him all-meet honors in the four starts. He capped off his season by becoming only the fourth runner in program history to compete in the state finals. His personal best of 15:54 ranks second on the all-time school list. All of this contributed to him being named the team MVP. 

The trio of junior Owen Lewis and sophomores Will Lewis and Jim Buchmeier worked together to  provide a strong team with Vaught. Owen Lewis earned All-County, All-Circle City Conference and All-Sectional honors, and Will Lewis and Buchmeier earned All-Circle City Conference honors. Will Lewis continued his climb in the record books. His season-best time of 16:39 is the program’s second-fastest ever by a sophomore and the 18th best on the all-time list. He also earned the team’s Mental Attitude award. Seniors John Wagner and Joe Buckel rounded out the Roncalli individual awards with Wagner taking home the Leadership Award and Buckel being recognized with the Sportsmanship Award. 

Several young Royals also contributed to the successful season. Sophomore Thomas Mallers competed on varsity in every meet, and freshmen Luke Senac and Chris Jerry competed with the varsity in the state tournament. Senac also earned Freshman All-County honors.